In conjunction with their upcoming publication, In Depth: Urban Domesticities Today, SO-IL founders Jing Liu and Florian Idenburg will discuss their practice’s decade-long pursuit of transforming the paradigm of urban housing today—towards a denser, more human and communal environment.

Appealing to students and professionals alike, In Depth examines how housing might promote the well-being of its inhabitants by presenting new typologies for our ever-more urbanized world. The design office’s attempt to “hack” the codes, cores, courts and corridors takes center stage, exemplified by a selection of SO-IL’s most recent projects, exploring concepts including porosity, connectivity, community and orientation in urban living.

Jing Liu, born in 1980 in China, is a founding partner at SO—IL. She grew up on three continents and in five cities, and most of her childhood homes were lost to rapid urbanization. She teaches at universities on the East Coast of the United States and works from her current base in Brooklyn, New York. Florian Idenburg is co-founder of SO – IL and Professor of the Practice at Cornell University. His grandmother’s house was designed by her great-uncle H. P. Berlage. On her veranda, he learned firsthand the benefits of the space in between.

Liu and Idenburg are the 2024-2025 Frank Gehry International Visiting Chairs in Architectural Design.